BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MONTGOMERY -- There was no joy, just a great sense of relief, at the police station here Monday afternoon when the call came that Gregory Cooper wouldn't be getting out of prison.
Officers were convinced Mr. Cooper had not paid his full debt for shooting Officer Michael Young twice during a 1989 bank robbery. The parole board at the Ross Correctional Institution at Chillicothe agreed. A prison spokeswoman said Monday that one factor was community input that strongly opposed his release. Mr. Cooper is eligible again in 2008.
Mr. Cooper, formerly of Loveland, has served nearly nine years of an 11- to 25-year sentence for twice shooting Officer Young, who responded to an alarm at Society Bank in Montgomery Square Shopping Center the week before Christmas.
In the parking lot, Officer Young encountered Mr. Cooper, then 27. Thinking he was a potential witness, he asked, "Did you see anything in the bank?"
Mr. Cooper responded by firing several times at the officer, now a 19-year veteran of the force. Officer Young was struck once in the hand, suffering permanent nerve damage; and once in his bulletproof vest, causing a severe chest bruise. He was hospitalized for several days.
"We're not happy he's in jail, but I'm not sure there's a better alternative," Montgomery police Chief Donald McGlothin said. "We're just relieved. And I'm glad for Mike. We're surprised how many people are supportive of us on this."
Andrea Dean, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, said the primary reasons were the severity of the offense and guidelines that Mr. Cooper serve 222 months in prison. Mr. Cooper, who has a favorable disciplinary prison record, has served less than half that amount of time.
"Community attitude was a part as well," Ms. Dean said. "Hamilton County is probably one of the more vocal counties when someone is up for parole. We always get community input, and that's encouraging because that's their right."
Officer Young was off duty Monday and could not be reached for comment.
